


Infinity Thieves

by Lanihaluki



Category: Infinity Train (Cartoon), Story Thieves Series - James Riley
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Alternate Universe, Coming of Age, Developing Friendships, F/F, F/M, Gen, Infinity train - Freeform, M/M, Teenage Dorks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 05:02:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26830060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lanihaluki/pseuds/Lanihaluki
Summary: Seven kids, all stuck on a mysterious train. Some are denizens, some are passengers, and one girl is a mix of both. Each have a different story. Will some of them find their way home, or will they be stuck on the train forever?
Relationships: Bethany Sanderson & Orion Sanderson, Gwen & Charm Mentum, Kiel Gnomenfoot & Charm Mentum, Kiel Gnomenfoot/Bethany Sanderson, Owen Conners & Bethany Sanderson, Owen Conners/Kara Dox
Comments: 7
Kudos: 5





	Infinity Thieves

**Author's Note:**

> SO I binge watched Infinity Train a few weeks ago and needless to say,, I had to make a story thieves infinity train au bc I LOVE this concept. I don't have a ton planned out for it yet, but I'm hoping to have this au shorter, with at least ten chapters centered around a few characters. After that I'm planning to separate this into "books", so each book will be centered around different characters while they're on the train (basically how it is in the show)!
> 
> If you haven't heard of Infinity Train, its an amazing show and I highly recommend watching it before you read this! A lot of this first book will be in Kiel's pov, but I'll bring in some other characters soon :)

When you were Kiel Gnomenfoot, every day was a good day. Or well, it was _supposed_ to be. Oftentimes, days took unexpected twists and turns, but he liked them. At the end of the day, he could laugh off the bad stuff. It was pretty easy to keep himself in a good mood, looking at life as an adventure. Like a magic trick, that’d always come naturally to Kiel.

Today was not one of those times.

“Kiel? Are you still in bed?” an old man’s voice called from the other side of Kiel’s bedroom door. Except that same voice was lacking in it’s usual kindness. Instead, the Magister just sounded annoyed. Kiel knew he had a knack for annoying people, even prided himself in it, but he _did_ feel a little bad for getting his guardian in an annoyed state so early in the morning.

“Nope!” Kiel lied as he threw the covers off himself. He swung around on his bed, touching his bare feet to the carpeted floor. “All ready! I’m just — brushing my hair! And my teeth! At the same time, because I’m very impressive!”

From the other side of the door, the Magister huffed. He sounded slightly less annoyed than before. Only slightly, but it was a positive sign to Kiel. “Good to know you’re finally getting ready after the fifth time I’ve woken you up. Can I come in?”

“In a minute!” Kiel shouted back. He ran to his closet, starting to look through the choices of clothing, only to stop as he caught sight of the outfit hanging neatly on the outside of his closet door. _Right_. When it came to days like these, he had to look professional. A word that definitely wasn’t in Kiel’s vocabulary, not unless the Magister was involved.

The outfit was simple: a button-down shirt with pants — all black, just the way he liked it. At least he didn’t have to wear a tuxedo or a tie to one of these events, not unless he was going on the red carpet. The only good thing about the dress code at those events was that it didn’t prevent him from wearing a cape. Well, okay, many people _had_ tried to prevent him from wearing it. He‘d just ignored them.

Haphazardly throwing on his clothes, Kiel darted to his desk, which had so many things on top of it that it was difficult to find, at first, what he was looking for. His eyes finally landed on his brush, which had been buried under a bunch of letters he’d had piled up on his desk. Not _his_ letters. They were from his fans’.

Being famous and all, Kiel received way more mail than the average person. It wasn’t easy, but he always tried to read through them all and send his fans replies. Being their idol and all, Kiel only felt it’d make sense that he write them back. The Magister told him his task was impossible, something that Kiel definitely didn’t agree to. Sure, he was busy, but his fans deserved to be heard! And if he couldn’t reply to all of them, maybe he could just have one of his publicists to do it for him.

Starting with . . .

He glanced at the first letter at the top of the pile, which hadn’t been opened yet. He flipped it to the back, smiling when he saw the name. A kid named Owen Conners had written it, who Kiel was almost positive had sent him many letters before. But it was hard to tell if he’d seen the boy’s name before, given how many fans he had already. Ah, having fans was the _best_.

“Kiel!” the Magister shouted, knocking his hand against the door. “What are you doing in there?”

_Oops._ Kiel quickly dropped the letter back onto the pile. Darn his inability to concentrate on one thing! “Sorry, Magi! I’ll be out in a second!”

He pulled out the brush from underneath the letters, quickly sliding it across his hair. He didn’t remember the last time he’d brushed his own hair. Usually, he kept it messy and tangled, not really caring what it looked like. His hair looked awesome all on it’s own, so why should he brush it? Though, he had told the Magister he’d been brushing his hair, so if he didn’t do it now, the Magister would know he was lying.

“You said that last time. Kiel, if you don’t get out here right—“

Swinging open the door, Kiel stopped short as he saw the Magister standing there, blocking him in the doorway. The Magister was basically the only father figure Kiel had ever had, since he’d adopted Kiel after finding him on the streets when he younger. Kiel had lived on the streets _by choice_. Not because he had to. He’d grown up in an orphanage, and very quickly, he realized that either he could sit around and wait for someone to adopt him . . .

_Or_ he could run away and live on the streets for the next four years. The orphanage wasn’t great, from what Kiel could remember. There were only a few other kids in there with him, but adoptions seemed to happen only rarely. For a while, Kiel hoped his parents would come back to get him, but they never did. So he’d left and never come back, and it was probably the best decision he’d ever made.

Not because he was homeless for a time. That part hadn’t been _amazing_ , but he’d learned how to take care of himself that way. He’d become pretty good at stealing, learning at a young age that it was the only way to survive. It was then that he’d met the Magister, who’d offered to take him in. Granted, he _had_ just caught an eight-year-old stealing from him, so he’d probably been worried Kiel would starve or something.

After the mention of food and new clothes and a roof over his head, it didn’t take much convincing for Kiel to agree. The offer was _way_ better than getting sent to jail, which in Kiel eyes, was probably the worst thing that could happen to a person. He couldn’t say that he’d expected what would happen once he started living with the Magister, but it certainly wasn’t _this_.

Besides getting homeschooled, the Magister made Kiel take all sorts of lessons. Specifically acting, singing, and dance (except he’d ditched all his lessons for that). Before Kiel knew it, he was thrown into the TV world. Everyone he met was impressed with him, obviously, so it wasn’t long before he’d started acting for shows and movies. Instantly, Kiel loved the spotlight. Loved the attention he received, at first, because just years ago he’d been a no-one on the streets. The only real downside of being newly famous was all the paparazzi, but Kiel had no trouble acting confident in front of them. 

And the Magister, although very much the father Kiel had never had, became Kiel’s manager. Yet lately, the Magister seemed more concerned with the managing part than the raising-Kiel part.

“Good morning!” Kiel said, smiling at the old man. He spotted Alphonse, his cat, on the floor near its master’s feet. His smile widening, Kiel reached down to pet the cat. “You’re looking lovely this morning, Alphonse.”

The Magister just sighed. “You’re not wearing the tie I gave you.”

“Huh?” Straightening back up, Kiel reached up and felt around his shirt collar. Sure enough, there was no tie. He didn’t even realize he was supposed to wear one. “What tie?”

“I hung it on your closet door. Did you not see it?”

“Nope. But come on, do I _need_ to wear it? Ties are _so_ restricting, and I already look awesome without one, don’t I?”

The Magister’s eyes looked cold, for a second, almost in a way that was uneasy to Kiel. But then he gave him a small, gentle smile. “I know how you feel about ties, my boy, but you need to wear it if you want to make the right impression for your interview. You can take it off as soon as it’s over.”

He pushed past Kiel into the room, heading towards his closet door. Kiel followed him. The tie wasn’t on the door like the Magister said it was, but looking down, Kiel realized it’d fallen to the floor in a crumpled heap. That made him feel a little worse. As the Magister plucked the tie off the ground and began to smooth it out, Kiel stepped in front of him.

“Can I at least wear a different tie? Like a bow tie? I have a great one with dragons on it, I think _that_ will make the right impression—“

The Magister sighed again. “I allowed you to wear that when you were younger. But you’re a teenager now, Kiel. Showing your maturity is better.” He reached through Kiel’s closet, digging his hand through Kiel’s small tie collection. “How about this one?”

The Magister pulled something out, and Kiel was thought at first that it was just another regular tie, like the one the Magister had picked out for him before. But to his relief, it was a bow tie. Not the one with the dragons on it, but with it’s cool galaxy design, it was still one of his favorites. It was the clip-on type, easier to slip on and off. Kiel preferred those over boring regular ties. Bow ties just looked _way_ cooler.

Kiel took it from him, his hands fumbling as he pinned it onto his shirt collar. When he was done, he shot the Magister a grin. “Let’s do this thing.”

The drive to the interview was almost an hour long, with how much traffic there was. The interview started at 11, though, which gave them plenty of time. He sometimes felt like the Magister was paranoid they’d be late to things, when in reality, they never were. Kiel guessed it’d be different if he was taking himself to his own interviews, though. As talented as he was, he _did_ have a knack for being late to almost everything. Luckily, he had the Magister to keep him on track.

It seemed like ages before they arrived, pulling up to a large building that Kiel didn’t recognize. But it wasn’t the fact that their car had stopped that made him realize that this was the place. Before they’d even reached the building, Kiel had seen the crowd. They were blocked off on either side with a rope, several security guards positioned alongside it.

Even with the windows closed, Kiel could hear the crowd cheering from outside. A carpet was laid out on the pavement, leading a path towards the front doors. Bright flashes kept going off around their car, as if there was a thunderstorm storm outside. But no, it wasn’t lightning. These were _cameras_.

Despite the fact that they hadn’t even stepped out of the car yet, the cameras were flashing continuously, like the “on” button was permanently pressed down. This was the paparazzi. They were here, just like Kiel had expected them to be. And while he loved the attention, he sometimes would rather get to talk to his fans without questions being thrown at him all at once. Usually, from much older adults.

“When you go out there, Kiel, don’t try to answer all their questions,” the Magister said, turning to face Kiel. He was in the driver’s seat, a bony hand resting on the wheel. “We don’t have time for it.”

“Well, don’t we have a _little_ time? The interview doesn’t start for another thirty minutes. I’m sure I‘ll be fine if I answer a few! Plus, _look_.” He gestured outside. “My fans are here! I at least want to say hi to them, maybe sign some autographs and—“

“ _No_ ,” the Magister said lowly, suddenly grabbing him by the shoulders.

Kiel’s heart jumped. “Magi, what are—“

“You will smile at them, but you won’t say anything to them. You can’t even sign autographs. We go straight inside. Do you understand? This interview is very important for your career, so you have to take this _seriously_. I’m not sure you know what serious means, do you? _Do_ you?”

He squeezed his shoulders way too tightly, then released him. Kiel was sure the Magister hadn’t hurt him, even told himself that, but could still feel the indents of fingers on his shoulders. It was then that he realized two things:

  1. The Magister was in less of an ideal mood, probably because he’d woken up on the wrong side of the bed, and not because they were late. 
  2. If Kiel didn’t do what he asked, things were about to go downhill. And he didn’t want anything to go downhill, ever. 



For a moment, Kiel felt his confidence falter, something that rarely happened. He forced himself to smile, acting like the words had brushed easily off of him. “I’m an _expert_ at taking things seriously. So, of course, Magi. No problem!”

The old man let out a long breath. “Good. You’ve already brought me enough stress this morning.” He motioned for Kiel to get out. “Now go, and remember what I said. I’ll be right behind you.”

For the first time, Kiel almost didn’t want the Magister to follow him out. The flashes of the cameras came fast as he stepped out of the slick black limo. The people around him cheered at his arrival, all of them pushing to get to the front of the velvet rope. Kiel grinned automatically, flashing them his signature wink and a wave. To his delight, the cheers only grew louder.

Yeah, he _definitely_ preferred this to being alone in a car with the Magister.

“Kiel! Kiel, over here!”

“Can you confirm that a sequel is being made of your movie?”

“Was there drama between you and your castmates?”

And the weirdest one: “What brand of toothpaste do you use?”

Questions were automatically thrown at him from all sides, their voices spilling over each other’s so fast that Kiel ckould barely make out them all. Reminding himself he shouldn’t try to respond to any of them, Kiel waved to the crowd instead, giving them a broad grin and flashing a wink at the nearest camera. It was a little weird that he wasn’t able to stop and talk to any of his fans, but he hoped he could on the way back.

Kiel’s eyes scanned across the crowd, his heart warming at the sight. Everywhere he looked, people held up posters or wore merch from his newest movie or even shouted things like “I love you!”, which in turn, Kiel would shout “I love you” back, and everyone would cheer louder. At every event like this, he was amazed at the idea of everyone being here for _him._ Of course, he already knew he was amazing, so who wouldn’t want to be here?

He thought he’d been doing a pretty good job of walking fast (given how much he _wanted_ to be around the attention), until bony hands clamped around his shoulders, almost making him jump. The scene back in the car came rushing back to him, like an unsettling memory that he couldn’t fully shake. Kiel glanced behind him. The Magister.

The old man wore a light smile, but his hands seemed to squeeze Kiel’s shoulders even tighter. Gripping him like a warning, practically pushing Kiel to walk faster. To anyone else, it might’ve seemed like a nice, friendly gesture. Usually to Kiel, it _was_. Though after seeing the Magister this morning, he didn’t take the gesture as comforting. Not as much as it might’ve been.

_I’m not sure you know what serious means, do you?_ His words ran through Kiel’s head and he shook them away. Maybe he was bad at being serious, but really, that was okay! That was what made Kiel who he was, someone who was fun and confident and loved by everyone. The Magister was just a little stressed about being on time for the interview. Nothing worth worrying about.

They reached the sliding glass doors, which closed automatically as they walked inside. Suddenly, Kiel felt a little smaller. He realized that it was just him and the Magister in the hallway. No adoring crowd with their compliments and smiles and upbeat energy, which was preferable to the Magister’s growing coldness.

Luckily, they weren’t alone in the hallway for long. Only a few seconds later, a security guard appeared at the end of the hall, ushering them over. They wandered down hallway after hallway until they came across a door. The security guard held it open, letting Kiel and the Magister walk inside.

Instantly, his eyes landed on the two chairs at the far end of the room, mostly because spotlights were shining on them, making that the brightest area in the room. He’d been to a lot of interviews in the few years he’d been famous, but every studio was special in its own way. This one was flooded with colors of white and beige, with an electronic display of his movie poster on the wall behind it.

He could only see the side of it, given that it was in the next room over. The room they were in, he realized, was a part of the backstage area. It was mostly filled with cameras and other equipment, crewmen rushing to set up for the interview. Kiel didn’t recognize anyone here.

“Kiel Gnomenfoot, if you’ll come with me!” a woman called, walking up to him. She wore an earpiece, some kind of walkie talkie attached to her belt. “We only have fifteen minutes, so your stylist is going to fix you up before the interview.”

“Are you sure?” Kiel raised an eyebrow. “I already look perfect.” And he winked.

The woman laughed. “Love that wink! Please come with me, though. I promise we’ll make you look _even_ better.”

Kiel couldn’t argue with _that_ , so he happily nodded and moved forward, starting to follow the woman. But before he could get anywhere, the Magister grabbed his arm. “Kiel, I must talk to you.”

“Can’t this wait? You heard the lady! Can’t keep my fans waiting.”

The Magister leaned closer to him. “No, this can’t wait. I need to tell you about something, something I want you to talk about in your interview.”

“Oh!” Kiel smiled, relaxing a little. “Okay. What is it?”

“I have not told you this yet for . . . certain reasons, but I recently partnered you with an organization. An organization that will do _great_ things. I cannot tell you what the organization does, but if asked, you will tell the interviewer that it is for a clothing brand called _Magisteria_ , which is based off your movie.”

Kiel felt confused. “Wait, so I’m not actually partnered with a clothing brand?” His voice rose. “And you want me to . . . _lie_ about it?”

The Magister’s eyes flashed. “Kiel, please, keep your voice down. I want you to say you are partnered with this clothing brand, in case anything comes out. I’ve already contacted someone to make a fake website for it online, so people will think it is real.”

An uneasy feeling settled in Kiel’s stomach, something he couldn’t say he felt very often. He wasn’t sure what he was concerned about more, the fact that a clothing band based on his movie _wasn’t_ a real thing, or the fact that the Magister wanted him to lie. And what was he lying _about_? What was he actually partnered with, and why couldn’t he tell the truth about it?

“What is this about, Magi?” Kiel asked softly. “You can tell me!”

“No, I can’t,” the Magister said, shaking his head. “If I tell you now, you might reveal the information to the public.”

“Well, I _do_ love talking about things related to me,” Kiel agreed. “But I won’t tell anyone if you don’t want me to. You _know_ I’d never do something like that. But I don’t get it, why would you partner me with some organization _without_ telling me — which is very weird, by the way — and now you want me to lie about who I’m partnering with? What’s really going on?”

“I’ve explained myself enough, Kiel, and I don’t appreciate all of your questions. You _will_ tell the interviewer that you’re partnered with a clothing brand, do you understand? I will explain everything in the future.”

“I still don’t get it. What am I lying about? I just don’t like that you want me to do something when I don’t know what it is!”

“I don’t care that you like it. You’ll do it. Lie all you want, as long as it looks good for your image. That’s all I care about.” He stepped back, then, and smiled thinly. “I know you’ll never let me down, my boy.”

Kiel just stared at him. He’d never heard the Magister ask him to lie about something, or even _condone_ lying. This just didn’t seem right, but he also didn’t want to disappoint his father figure. Whatever was going on, it wasn’t bad. He knew the Magister. Everything he did was for a good cause, and he’d never given Kiel a reason to believe otherwise.

But if that was the case, why was his heart beating so fast?

“Mr. Gnomenfoot?” the woman from earlier asked impatiently. “Time’s running out. We need to get you ready.”

Kiel shared one last look with the Magister before following the woman to the makeup chair. As he allowed a stylist to touch up his face, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something didn’t feel right. Not just with the situation, but with Kiel himself. Then it dawned on him, that he recognized an emotion he tried hard to suppress. An emotion that’d been slowly growing inside him every time he and the Magister had talked today.

It was fear.

___

“It’s so nice to have you here,” the interviewer said, a sweet smile on her face. “Thank you for coming.”

Kiel’s grin felt more forced than usual. “Thank you for having me! I’ll _never_ turn down an opportunity to talk about myself.” He tilted his head towards the audience, flashing them a wink. Laughs rippled across the room, and he noticed the interviewer was laughing, too.

“I just watched your movie, _The Magic Thief_ , and I have to say I was astonished by your talent. I have to know, when did you start acting?”

“When I was around nine,” Kiel replied, hoping he sounded more impressive than he felt. “There’s a story behind it, actually. My adopted father, the Magister—“ His voice caught slightly, but he pushed on, not missing a beat. “He took me to an acting class. The only thing I fully remember from that day was that I got so into character I tried setting the building on fire.” He choked out a laugh. “My character was a firefighter.”

The audience laughed again, as the interviewer said, “That’s not what a — ah, never-mind. What a sweet story! Kiel, you really seem to love acting. Is there anything you can’t do?”

Kiel winked. “Unfortunately, no. Perfection is a curse!”

The interviewer chuckled. “It certainly is. And are you working on any new projects?”

He froze at the question. His eyes drifted over to the backstage area, where the Magister was standing, watching him. Their eyes locked, and the Magister nodded. This was it. Time for Kiel to reveal the “organization” he was partnering with, except he’d be lying through his teeth. If he knew it was for a good reason, maybe he’d feel better about this. For once, he wasn’t sure what to say.

“Yes, actually,” Kiel responded, giving the interviewer a smile. “I recently partnered with . . .” His eyes met the Magister’s again, who was looking at him expectantly. Expecting him to say it, to cover everything up with a lie. No one would know the difference, and it wasn’t like this completely effected Kiel. But one thing was for sure: he couldn’t lie. Not if the Magister’s actions didn’t seem completely valid.

So Kiel didn’t stop himself as he blurted, “Actually, I was going to tell you I’ve partnered with a clothing brand, but that’s not true. My manager partnered me with some other organization, and he hasn’t told me any details.” He didn’t dare look at the Magister. For a moment, all he could hear was his pounding heart. His hands were sweaty in his lap.

“Really?” The interviewer was watching him with a new kind of curiosity. “So are you saying your manager, who I believe is also your adopted father, wanted you to lie about who you’re partnering with?“

Kiel nodded. “Exactly. I’m _sure_ it’s for a great reason, but I couldn’t lie about it if I don’t know the full story.” He spread his hands. “Why hide things, anyway? If we want to communicate the right way, we should all be open and honest with each other. And if you _do_ lie, lie about how amazing you are.” He smiled, pointing a thumb at himself. “That’s how _I_ became this cool, except I never lied about that.”

“Does your manager usually ask you to lie about things for him?”

“Oh, now you’re getting the wrong idea. No, this is the only time he’s done that, and you know why? It’s a _really_ cool surprise, and you’ll all find out what it is soon!” The words left his mouth quickly, and he didn’t stop to consider what he was saying before he’d said it. Even now, his mind was spinning too fast for him to actually think about his own words.

“Interesting. And you’re sure it’s a nice surprise, since the Magister didn’t give you any information about it? Do you find it strange that he is withholding information about who you’re partnering with?”

Entirely by accident, Kiel’s eyes landed on the spot the Magister had been standing. Only, it was empty. He wasn’t there anymore. Uh-oh.

“I’m sure it’s good, and no, I don’t find it weird at all.”

Kiel said his words more slowly, his brain finally catching up with the rest of him. He had a horrible sinking feeling, like he’d accidentally betrayed the Magister. This hadn’t been what he was supposed to say. He was supposed to lie for the Magister, but it hadn’t been something he agreed with. But Kiel thought he’d done a good job of making it seem entirely unproblematic, hadn’t he? He thought so. Though seeing how the Magister had left, he wasn’t sure anymore.

The interviewer looked like she wanted to ask more about it, but to Kiel’s relief, she changed the subject. “Okay, let’s move to something else. Now, I’ve heard some rumors on twitter going around that you may be dating someone. Can you confirm or deny this?”

Despite everything, Kiel felt like laughing. “No, it’s isn’t true. But when the right person comes along, I’ll definitely know. For now? The only love in my life is me.”

___

The interview lasted another forty minutes, but Kiel found himself wishing it was longer. When it was all over and it was time to leave, he headed backstage. He scanned the room, but he didn’t see the Magister anywhere. Kiel’s stomach twisted. Where was he? Had he really been gone this whole time, or was he coming back?

Kiel asked around, and a security guard told him he’d seen the Magister walk out, and never come back. So that meant he was either somewhere else in the building, or he’d left. But he’d never do that to Kiel, right? Even under the circumstances that Kiel annoyed him, the Magister always stuck around for Kiel’s interviews. _Always._

He was here. He had to be.

To be sure, Kiel checked his phone. There was one text, and it was from the Magister.

_Go to the car. I’m waiting._

Kiel hesitated before texting back, _No problem! I’ll be there soon ;)_

He wasn’t sure why, but he didn’t exactly _want_ to be there soon.

Since the building was practically a maze, the security guard led him out the door, taking him back the way they’d come when they’d walked in. But instead of going out through the same sliding glass doors, the security guard led him to a different exit, one that was free of paparazzi or fans. It was a parking lot. Crowded, but relatively normal.

It didn’t take long for Kiel to spot his car. The limo hung close to the curb, looking like it’d been stationed there for an hour. It probably had been, ever since the Magister had walked out. Squaring his shoulders (and trying to keep himself as optimistic as possible), Kiel crossed the space between himself and the car. He threw open the door and climbed inside.

The Magister was sitting there in the backseat, a few sears away from Kiel. The old man’s face was almost unreadable, but as he glanced up, the look in his gaze made Kiel shiver. At first, the Magister didn’t speak to Kiel. He ordered their driver to take them home, but said nothing after that.

Kiel got the feeling he didn’t want to talk, which wasn’t easy for him, because he _always_ wanted to talk. He opened his mouth, breaking the thick silence. “My interview went pretty great, huh? I think it did. The interviewer asked if I’m in a relationship, can you believe that? My fans make up the _weirdest_ things—“

“Silence!” the Magister snapped. “Do you know what you did?”

Kiel swallowed hard. Yes, he knew exactly what he was talking about, but he didn’t exactly want to say it. “I had a great interview, Magi.”

The Magister’s voice rose, the anger evident in it. “You did not listen to my orders, Kiel. I asked you to do something, and you failed to do it. The one thing I asked you to do, the _one_ _thing_. Now the media will be on my back, and they won’t rest until they discover who I’ve partnered you with. Do you know how reckless you acted?”

“I’m sorry, but I didn’t like the way you were acting,” Kiel said, keeping his voice as steady as possible. “You aren’t acting like yourself, Magi, and I don’t know if lying is the right thing to do.”

“It doesn’t matter if it was the right thing to do!” the Magister shouted. “I had everything planned out for you, and you didn’t even listen! I thought you’d be better than this.”

“Better than _what_? If it’s so upsetting to you, why can’t you just tell me what you’re hiding?” Kiel felt his anger rising. “Why can’t you tell me about this secret organization that you partnered me with? Is it bad?”

The Magister’s expression softened, just a little. “You know me, Kiel. Am I a bad person? Would I ever do something against your beliefs?”

Kiel shook his head. “No. I don’t think you would. I just want to know what you’re not telling me. I’ll support it, I swear.”

His father figure looked uncertain at first, but then, he slowly nodded. “Alright. This organization . . . it’s something I believe in. Something I think you will appreciate, too. These people are finding . . . ways . . . of removing the homeless from the streets. For good. You see, they want to clear the streets of all crime, so moving homeless people away helps with that.”

“Wait, what?“ Kiel crinkled his brows. “Where are they moving them?”

The Magister looked away. “All I can tell you is it’s the most beneficial thing for them. They cannot keep living on the streets.”

“But where else can they live? I was homeless once. The only place they can live _is_ the streets!”

“People will be safer when they are forced to live elsewhere. They’re becoming a problem, and they must be dealt with. In a way, I suppose we’re making them disappear.”

“How are they a problem? And how can you say that when _I_ was homeless? The streets is all they have! I can’t be a part of something like this—“

“You have no choice!” the Magister snapped, turning on him again. Kiel jumped. “You _will_ be a part of this organization, no matter what. This is good for them. The place they’re sent — it’s meant to _help_ them.”

“I don’t think making them ‘disappear’ is helping them.” Kiel shook his head. “But now that I know what this is, I have to stop being partnered with them. You’re ruining people’s lives this way!”

“I don’t want to hear you argue anymore with me. I thought you would’ve shown more support, but I should’ve known better. You let me down, Kiel.” His voice rippled with anger. “You don’t deserve what I’ve given you. I should _never_ have taken you in.”

“You . . . you think that, Magi?” Kiel asked quietly, his mouth hanging open. The Magister stared at him wordlessly for a moment longer before looking away.

The words hit Kiel like a train. He blinked hard, feeling like all the air had drained from his lungs. At that moment, the car conveniently rolled to a stop in front of their house, and Kiel quickly got out, just wanting to get away. Without waiting to see if the Magister was following, he ran into the house and up to his room, where he collapsed onto his bed.

This wasn’t how today was supposed to go. Today was supposed to be awesome, and great, and fun. All the best adjectives. Instead, it’d turned into a disaster. Which never happened, because he was Kiel Gnomenfoot, and things always turned out in his favor. But Kiel had let the Magister down twice, and now, he was partnered with some organization that caused homeless people to disappear.

_Awesome._

Next to him, his phone buzzed loudly. It was a text, and luckily, it wasn’t from the Magister again. One of his friends from his extracurricular magic club had sent it. Kiel picked up his phone, expecting to see a question about the interview, or maybe something about their next magic club meeting. Instead, it was a different question. Something he was almost sure he’d never been asked before.

_Are you good?_

Kiel stared at the text. What did _that_ mean? Had his friend seen the interview, and sensed that Kiel was upset? Kiel quickly tore down that idea. At this point, he was an expert at hiding any feelings of weakness, especially when it came to his fans. In front of them, even in front of _everyone_ , Kiel needed to be the best version of himself.

He acted confident and always faced the world with a smile, even when he wasn’t happy at all. It was easier to ignore when he felt sad or distressed, because he didn’t _want_ anyone to see him that way. So he knew, without a doubt, that he hadn’t shown a trace of sadness at the interview. That wasn’t even an option for Kiel, so it had to be about something else.

Looking down at his phone, Kiel typed in the code and slid it open with his thumb. His fingers hovered over the keypad as he prepared to text something back. That was when it occurred to him . . . what if his friend was just asking to see how Kiel was doing? Just checking up on him, to make sure he was feeling confident after his interview? Yeah, that had to be it!

But as he moved to type a response, preferably his signature wink emoji, something stopped him. His mind drifted back to the conversation he and the Magister had had minutes before, of the way the Magister had screamed at him. Of how heavy Kiel’s heart felt. He didn’t think it’d ever felt so heavy before. Not recently, anyway.

All his life, Kiel had never talked to anyone about his feelings. Under the rare occasion that he was sad or angry, he’d just let his feelings run their course, mostly ignoring them in the process. He knew, maybe better than anyone, just how important it was to keep himself upbeat in the eyes of others. It just wasn’t always easy to keep it up if he didn’t feel particularly _good_.

A new idea emerged in his head. What if he actually talked to someone about his fight with the Magister? He had an opportunity to do it right now, and since the fight was still fresh in his mind, it was totally valid. Kiel knew that the Magister wouldn’t see the text either, since his friends didn’t talk much to his father figure anyway. But that wasn’t what he was concerned about.

It was the image thing. Having anyone see him as anything less, it just wasn’t . . . ideal. But Kiel knew this might be the best (and only) time to do it, so he tried. He got his fingers to move, forming a sentence explaining that he didn’t feel okay, that he’d been having issues with the Magister and maybe, just maybe, he could use someone to talk to.

The answer was ready. All written out, ready to be sent. Kiel let his thumb hover over the send button, and he brought it down. Or tried to, anyway. But he didn’t make it. At the last second, before he could press it, he drew his thumb back and deleted everything he’d written.

He wasn’t sure why, but deleting it made him feel he feel a weird sense of shame, as well as relief. He focused on the relief part. Taking a deep breath, Kiel typed a different, much shorter response instead. Something he would’ve sent initially, if he hadn’t considered the whole addressing-his-feelings thing first. Now, he was completely convinced that’d been a bad idea.

_Always ;),_ he wrote. He hit send.

Weirdly enough, Kiel didn’t feel any different. He would’ve thought saying the right thing would make him feel better, but if anything, it made his heart heavier. He sighed, springing up from his bed. Abandoning his phone, he pulled on shoes and checked that the hallway was empty before heading outside.

Time to get rid of these feelings. And the best way to do that, in Kiel’s experience, was by taking a nice walk. The woods behind his house weren’t anything too special. The trees didn’t try to eat him, and the animals didn’t attack him, which he honestly would’ve preferred. Those kinds of things always happened in the movies he starred in, so he was sure that if he engaged in anything dangerous right now, his spirits would be high again.

But since there wasn’t exactly an option, taking a walk was the next best thing. And one thing he knew for sure? He didn’t want to be home right now. He didn’t even want to be with his friends right now, _or_ in front of a screen. It was a weird feeling for Kiel, but that’s all this was. A feeling. He’d be okay, and he’d fix everything in no time. No problem.

Kiel walked on and on, not looking back once. Sometimes, being around nothing but trees helped. Then again, he’d rather be with his friends right now, so he could act happy until he was _actually_ cheered up. But since he felt the opposite, it was better that he was alone for now. Just to keep anyone from seeing him like this. And when he felt good again, he’d go back! It was the perfect plan he could think of.

The only thing was, waiting for himself to get in a better mood was a little harder than he thought it’d be. Kiel was starting to feel frustrated with himself. He knew these things took time, but why couldn’t he just instantly feel better? Sure, the Magister had said some mean stuff to him, and he hadn’t been the _best_ parent lately, but that was okay, right? The Magister still loved him, didn’t he?

Didn’t he?

Kiel shook off his doubt. Of _course_ he did. Everyone loved him; that was just a fact. The Magister hadn’t meant those things that he’d said. He’d just been stressed, which Kiel completely understood. That was no reason for Kiel to doubt himself now. He was an amazing person, and the Magister thought so, too. He might not have said it, but it was true. It _had_ to be true.

All of the sudden, an unexpected noise filled Kiel’s ears. It almost sounded like the whistle of a train, blaring so loudly that it seemed to echo across the woods. And then there was the light, a bright green that shone through the cracks in the trees. Kiel squinted his eyes to shield them from the light, but even then it became too bright and he had to hold his hands up to cover his eyes.

The light dimmed slightly, allowing him to lower his hands. What he saw made him gasp. “Is that . . . a train?” Kiel whispered to himself out-loud. He stared at it in half-disbelief, half-excitement. It wasn’t everyday a train just rolled up in front of him, and in all honesty, the sight of it took his mind instantly off of his other problems.

Wait, why was a train here? He had to admit that it _was_ a little weird for a train to suddenly appear in the middle of the woods, in an area where, last time he’d checked, had no train tracks. But he must’ve been wrong, because the train was here. Maybe it’d always passed through here, and he’d just never seen it. He felt a little disappointed he hadn’t, because it _did_ look pretty cool.

The train was unlike any that he’d seen before, practically glowing in the sunlight. At first he thought it looked black, but as it moved, it almost seemed to change colors, showing off hues of purples and blues. Despite the loud whistle, he could hear one of his favorite songs blaring from inside the train. He even swore he saw a poster or two of _The Magic Thief_ , on one of the windows, but it was hard to tell given how fast the train was moving.

He expected the train to keep going, but to his surprise, it slowed to a stop. The whistling stopped, replaced by the loud screeching of tires. As it did so, the green light it radiated winked out, the windows growing dark again. One of it’s doors, the one directly in front of Kiel, swung open automatically. Like he was meant to go inside.

For the first time since the interview, Kiel felt a smile coming to his face. He wasn’t sure where this train led exactly, but he didn’t care. He just knew, in that moment, that he wanted to do something reckless and fun. He wanted to hop on a train and go on an adventure, just because he _could_.

If the Magister found out he’d let some train whisk him away, he might be angry. But Kiel didn’t care. He needed a break from the Magister, needed a break from the lies and the fame, needed a break from the weird, confusing feelings he’d had inside him. He hadn’t feel much like himself today. The world loved Kiel Gnomenfoot, the winking boy who always had a smile, who was an inspiration to his fans, who never showed any signs of weakness.

But the world didn’t like _just Kiel._ It wouldn’t like the Kiel who felt scared sometimes, the Kiel who sometimes had to force his own confidence to get by, and certainly not the Kiel who talked about his true feelings to his friends. Maybe it was how he’d always been, but he was used to it. That’s just how things were. If Kiel let his guard down for even a second, the world would eat him alive.

Maybe right now, though, he didn’t want to deal with any of that. So he made his decision. He grabbed the railing and stepped onto the train. A bright green light flooded his vision, and that was the last thing he remembered before his world turned upside-down.

Literally.


End file.
